Troopers and city police concentrated on saturation patrols in violent areas of the city as the "Trenton Initiative" began yesterday.
A state trooper guards the scene of a shooting on Calhoun Street in Trenton last week. The State Police began their third deployment on 2012 Saturday for an effort known as the "Trenton Initiative."
TRENTON – The New Jersey State Police have begun their third deployment into the capital city this year, kicking off the “Trenton Initiative” with a dozen arrests yesterday, city police announced today.
The effort to tamp down escalating violence in Trenton, which has been in the works for several weeks, sent troopers and city police into the most violent areas of the capital, Police Director Ralph Rivera Jr. said in a news release.
Patrol officers along with troopers from the State Police’s Troop C worked alongside the Mercer County Sheriff’s and Prosecutor’s Offices and used “saturation patrols and pro-active policing methods,” Rivera said in the release.
On Friday, Rivera and other officials opened up two police substations in the East and West Wards as part of a department-wide realignment. Two city police tactical units were dissolved hours later, angering union heads and elected officials who see the specialized units as vital to the fight against violent crime.
No details have been offered on how long the troopers will be in the city, or whether they are seen as a replacement for the tactical units.
Arrested during operations yesterday were: 43-year-old Andrew Lewis on active warrants, 46-year-old Harry McKinney on drug charges, 22-year-old Jeffrey Wilkins of Reservoir Street on a contempt of court warrant, East State Street resident Lonnie Langston, 22, on a contempt of court warrant and hindering apprehension, Greenwood Avenue resident Sakima Kearney, 30, on active warrants, Westend Avenue resident Corey Belton, 31, on active warrants, Fountain Avenue resident Jamil Thomas, 20, on drug charges, Philadelphia resident Eugene Whitaker, 34, on hindering apprehension and a warrant, Oliver Avenue resident Anthony Harley, 24, on active warrants, Tyrell Avenue resident Kevin Simmons, 36, on active warrants, and West State Street resident Jefferson Harris on hindering apprehension and active warrants.
Rivera commanded a similar initiative in Irvington and Camden from 2003-2004 while a State Police major. The State Police surged into Trenton this year first in February and March, then again in October and November during a deployment interrupted by Hurricane Sandy.